By the mid-nineteenth century, slavery had existed in the United States for more than two hundred years. Over that time, slave traders had brought hundreds of thousands of slaves into the country. Slaves who had survived the torturous journey from Africa found new horrors upon arrival in North America. When a slave ship pulled into a port city's harbor, town criers strolled through the streets announcing the arrival of a fresh load of human cargo. Plantation owners stopped their farmwork and came down to the docks to purchase field hands and servants. Barefoot and half-naked men and women shivered in the unfamiliar cold climate as they were poked, prodded, and examined by prospective buyers. Within hours the slaves were sold at auction to the highest bidders. What lay ahead for most slaves was a lifetime of hard work and the lash of the whip...